By Alex Al-Kazzaz
Bruce Bochy has officially come out of retirement. The former manager of the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants and three-time World Series Champion is bound for Arlington, Texas. Bochy and the Texas Rangers came to an agreement on a three-year deal. Bochy is an MLB manager for the first since 2019 and is the Rangers' 20th manager. In addition, Bochy, a former National League Manager of the Year(1996), previously worked in the Giants' front office as well as the manager of the French National Baseball Team.
The Texas Rangers have not had a winning season since 2016. The previous manager Chris Woodward was fired in August and Tony Beasley was appointed interim manager. Two days after Woodward was fired, Jon Daniels, the President of Baseball Operations was fired. Chris Young, the organization's General Manager assumed the role of club president. This season, the Rangers finished 68-94 and in fourth place in the American League West.
The search for a new manager began immediately for the Texas Rangers. The candidate list included the likes of former Angels manager Mike Scioscia, and former Dodgers, and Marlins manager, Don Mattingly. The idea of bringing back Ron Washington as manager was teased, but it's unknown for sure if he was a serious contender or even considered at all.
Bochy is the Rangers' first manager with previous MLB managing experience since Buck Showalter was appointed manager of the Rangers back in 2002. Interestingly enough, Bochy is the club's first manager that was won a World Series previously. In addition, Bochy's 2,003 wins as a manager ranks him 12th among managers with the most wins. Furthermore, he led the Giants to three World Series victories in a five-year span.
It's clear that the opportunity to enlist the services of Bochy is a no-brainer for the Rangers organizations. His resume, accomplishments, experience, etc all tell the story. The Texas Rangers are determined to re-establish themselves as playoff contenders in hopes of one day returning to the World Series to finally bring the title to North Texas.